NOAA
Importance of Deep-Sea Ecosystems – What Killed the Seeds?
Most drugs used today come from nature, so the discovery of new ecosystems in the deep sea is exciting from a medical perspective. Scholars develop their own bioassay to test germination rates in seeds.
Curated OER
Nature and Place Names in Arkansas
Middle schoolers examine the way that many place names in Arkansas came to be. By looking at Arkansas highway maps, they find names that come from the characteristics of each of the state's six geographical divisions. This interesting...
Curated OER
Bug's Eye View
Investigate the life of bugs and how they interact with the environment in this integrated science and language arts lesson. Young scientists construct mini environments in cages in order to make observations. This data forms the basis...
McGraw Hill
Arthropods
Are spiders related to crabs? Study the order of arthropods with a reading selection about animal diversity. It provides details about each class within the order, as well as vivid pictures and explanatory charts.
Biology Junction
Mollusks
Mollusks created every shell on Earth. Young scientists learn more about the phyllum mollusca in an informative presentation. It covers their characteristics, body plans, and relationships in the ecosystem. Then, it details each class of...
Curated OER
Species Identification Using Dichotomous Keys
To help your students unlock the wonderful world of living things, teach them to use a dichotomous key.
Curated OER
Bat Ecology
Students, through hands on games and activities, discover how bats live and how bats benefit ecosystems. They play a game designed to show them how echolocation works and another to show how mother bats locate their young through their...
Curated OER
Compost in a Bag!
Fourth graders experiment to see which objects decompose. For this compost lesson, 4th graders observe the changes of labeled objects in a bag. Leave the objects for one month and record the changes by observation and weight. Students...
Curated OER
The Sponges
For this sponge worksheet, students read about the different parts of a sponge and answer 20 short answer questions that follow. They color and label different sponge drawing.
Curated OER
Earth's Dramatic History
Students create a timeline. In this Earth's History lesson, students research the history of life on Earth and use the information collected to create a timeline. Students also answers the provided discussion questions.
Curated OER
Bug's Eye View
Students explore biology by writing fictitious stories in class. In this insect life instructional activity, students identify many different types of insects in the animal kingdom and the classifications they fall into. Students collect...
Curated OER
Molecular Explorations
Students explain the processes for separating DNA from tissue and separating complex mixtures. In this exploratory lesson students complete a lab where they extract DNA.
Curated OER
Diversity And Adaptations Of Organisms
Eighth graders study how and why animals are classified into eight groups in the animal kingdom. They work together to identify organisms. They use the key to determine the phylum for the included problems.
Curated OER
The Electric Sieve
Students examine different mixtures and how they can be separated. In this electric sieve instructional activity students complete an activity that allows them to separate mixtures.
Curated OER
Collecting Fossils
In this fossils worksheet, students will read about the hobby of fossil collecting and the tools needed for collecting fossils. Students will complete 3 short answer questions based on their reading.
Curated OER
Urban Impact on Chollas Creek (California): A Field Study
Students, in groups, take samples from a creek and keep a field journal on their samples. They also perform tests on their samples.
Curated OER
"For the Birds" [part I]
Students identify birds that appear in Chinese and Japanese art, learning about
their physical characteristics, classifying them according to scientific principles, and exploring their habitats and migration patterns. This is part one...